Adjustable wall mounted clothes drier



Feb. 5, 1957 c. R. TRAlNOR 2,780,355 ADJUSTABLE WALL MOUNTED CLOTHES DRIER Filed Oct. 6, 1954 w m v m A M 6 7 1 1 p Y w Adv United States Patent 2,780,365 ADJUSTABLE WALL MOUNTED CLOTHES DRIER Charles R. Trainor, Silver Spring, Md. Application October 6, 1954, Serial No. 460,790 1 Claim. Cl. 211-87) (Granted under Title 35, U. s. Code 1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

The present invention relates to clothes driers and more particularly to an indoor clothes drier having means for engaging the walls of a room or the like for supporting the drier.

A principal object of the invention is to provide an indoor clothes drier which may be supported by the walls of a bathroom above the tub, andwithout the necessity of any vertical floor engaging support or stand.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wall mounted clothes drier which is adjustable for use between walls which are spaced apart varying'distances.

Another object'is to provide a clothes drier of the above-mentioned character which will provide a maximum length of clothesline in a minimum of space, as above a bathtub or the like.

Still another object is to provide in a clothes drier of the above-mentioned type novel means for engagement with the walls of a bathroom or the like for supporting the drier at the desired elevation without the use of nails, screws or other fastener means likely to damage the walls.

A further object is to provide a clothes drier of the above-mentioned character which is highly simplified and economical in construction, sturdy and durable, and of the knockdown type so that the drier may be readily disassembled and arranged in a compact condition for storage or transportation.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a clothes drier in accordance with the invention and illustrating a preferred manner of using the same,

Figure 2 is a plan view of the'clothes drier shown in Figure l,

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the same, part broken away and part in section, V

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a cross member or arm of the drier,

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal vertical section taken on line 55 of Figure 2, and,

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a modifiedform of cross'member or arm for the drier.

In the drawings, where for the purpose of illustration are shown preferred embodiments of the invention, the numeral 10 designates generally an elongated longitudinal support bar, preferablyformed from a pair of telescoping tubes 11 and 12 of substantially equal length. The tube-or bar section 12 is of smaller diameter than the tube 11 and telescopically engages inside of the tube 11, asshown. The inner end portion ofthe tube 12 is screwthreaded as at 13, but the tube 11 is not screw-threaded internally and the screw-threaded portion 13 is freely slidable longitudinally within the bore of the tube 11. The screw-threaded portion 13 carries a knurled adjusting and locking nut 14 of suificient diameter to be conveniently turned by hand, and the nut 14 engages the adjacent end of the tube 11 in use for spreading the tube sections 11 and 12 apart longitudinally and holding them in the selected adjusted position. 7

The drier further comprises end transverse support members or arms 15 which are identical, and preferably formed of sheet metal or the like. Each arm 15 is generally T-shaped in cross section, and includes an outer vertical web or flange 16 and an inner horizontal longitudinal web or flange 17, integral therewith and arranged at right angles to the web 16 at the transverse center of the same. V

The upper and lower longitudinal edges of the vertical flange 16 are formed to provide U-shaped portions 18 which extend throughout the entire length of the arm 15. The U-shaped extensions 18 provide opposed longitudinal grooves 19 in the arm 15, throughout its entire length for the reception of narrow marginal portions 20 of a bead or strip 21 of medium soft rubber or the like. The rubber strip 21 has its outer face 22 projecting forwardly of the U-shaped portions 18, as shown in Figure 5, for contact with a wall of the room in which the clothes drier is to be used. The wall engaging portion of the strip 21 preferably extends for substantially the entire distance between the U-shaped extensions 18, as shown. The strip 21 is readily applicable to the arm 15 by passing the marginal portions 20 longitudinally into the grooves 19, and of course, the strip 21 is readily removable for replacement.

The outer end of each tube section 11 and 12 is slotted transversely as best shown at 23 in Figure 5. In assembly, the horizontal webs 17 of the arms 15 engage within the slots 23, as shown, and the inner sides of the webs 16 abut the outer ends of the tubes 11 and 12, which outer ends are square or flat and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the bar 10. Each web 17 is provided at its longitudinal center with an opening 24, adapted to be aligned with a vertical transverse opening 25 formed through the tube sections 11 and 12 near and inwardly of their outer ends. The openings 24 and 25 receive bolts 26, provided at their ends with wing nuts 27 or the like. The bolts 26 thus serve to securely lock the webs 17 within the slots 23, and the engagement of the vertical webs 16 with the ends of the tubes 11 and 12 prevents pivotal movement of the arms 15 relative to the telescopic bar 10, in assembly. The arms 15 are thus arranged at right angles to the bar 10, and project equidistantly beyond the opposite sides of the telescopic bar.

Each web or flange 17 is further provided upon opposite sides of the telescopic bar 10 with a plurality of equidistantly spaced apertures 28, adapted to receive the end portions of a corresponding number of parallel spaced longitudinal clotheslines 29, preferably formed of nylon cord, plastics material or the like. The ends of the clotheslines 29 are preferably passed downwardly through the openings 28 and knotted below the webs 17, as shown at 30 in Figure 3. With this arrangement, the clotheslines 29 have their ends securely anchored to the transverse arms 15 so that they will be able to support the desired load. While I have shown six of the clotheslines 29 in'the drawing, for the purpose of illustration, it should be understood that any desired number of lines may be employed, and to increase thenumberof lines, it is merely necessary'to correspondingly increase the number of openings 28 in the arms 15.

In use, with the arms 15 assembled onto the telescopic 'bar 10 in the manner shown and described, the drier is Patented Feb. 5, 1957 g positioned at the desired elevation above a bathtub or the like and the telescoping tube sections 11 and 12 are extended longitudinally by hand the desired amount, to

bring the rubber strips 21 into contact with the walls of the bathroom. Thescrew threads 13 will not interfere with the free telescopic movement of the tube sections 11 and 12, as previously stated, since the tube section 11 is not screw-threaded. The final extending or spreading of the tube sections 11 and 12 is now accomplished by turning the nut 14 by hand in the proper direction, and this will force the compressible rubber strips 2 into tight abutting engagement with the Walls of the room. The nut 14 will now serve to lock the tube sections 11 and 12 in their adjusted positions, and the drier will be adequately supported by the engagement of the rubber strips 21 with the walls of the room. The clothes to be dried will of course be hung over the lines 29, and the bar may be utilized for drying clothes if desired.

The drier may be readily disassembled for packing in a minimum space by merely loosening the nut 16 and then separating the tube sections 11 and 12. It will be necessary to disconnect corresponding ends. of the lines 29 from the adjacent arm 15 at this time. The arms 15 are readily removable from the tube sections 11 and 12 by removal of the bolts 26.

In Figure 6, I have shown a modified form of transverse support arm 15' which is identical with the arm 15, except that it does not have the U-shaped portions or extensions 18. Instead, the vertical web 16' of the arm 15 is provided at spaced intervals, above and below its horizontal web 17' with pairs of apertures 31, for the reception of yieldable rubber buttons 32, formed integral with the inner side of a rubber strip or bead 33, otherwise similar to the rubber strip 21, and serving the ide ntical purpose on the drier as the strip 21. Strip 33 is applied to the outer face of the flange 16 by passing the buttons 32 through the apertures 31, and of course, the strip 33 is readily removable when it is desired to replace the same. All other parts and their functions are identical with those shown and described in the first form of;

the invention.

It is to be, understood that the forms of the invention, herewith shown and described are to be taken as preferred examples of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

I claim:

A clothes drier comprising an extensible bar, adjustable means c onnected with said bar to hold it in selected longitudinally adjusted position, the opposite ends of the extensible bar having transverse slots formed therethrough, cross arms for connection with the ends of the extensible bar and extending beyond opposite sides of the bar substantially at right angles thereto, said cross arms being substantially T-"shaped in cross section and including vertical and horizontal webs, said horizontal webs of the cross arms engaging within said slots, the vertical webs of the cross arms abutting the ends of the extensible bar, bolt means extending through the extensible bar and said horizontal webs for securing the cross arms to the extensible bar, strips of rubber-like material carried by the outer sides ,of said .vertical webs for frictionally engaging the walls of a room or the like, and a plurality of spaced substantially parallel clothes lines extending between said cross arms on opposite sides of the extensible bar and having their ends secured to said horizontal webs of the cross arms, said extensible bar, cross arms and clothes lines lying substantially in the same plane.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

